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Pan Fried Swordfish Steaks with Lemon

At the beginning of February, Locals Seafoodkicked-off with their 1st annual Winter Seafood Jubilee, a series of North Carolina winter seafood-centric events and promotions taking place in NC’s Triangle region throughout February.

The Winter Seafood Jubilee kicked off with the “3 on 3 at the Winter Seafood Jubilee,” taking place during the first three weeks of February. Locals Seafood recruited three “social media foodie gurus” to participate, a challenge where each guru is responsible for one week in February and given three different species of winter seafood to cook and showcase to you. Kristen Baughman (@knbaughman) showcased her creations the first week, Kim Alexander (@trianglelocalista) the second week and now the torch has passed on to me (@durhamfoodie).

The first of my “3 on 3″ challenge, I went with a New England Clam Chowder Pizza made with the Bogue Sound littleneck clams I was given. With the help of my stepson this pizza turned out fabulous. It was an experience I will never forget. For my next choice I made a Seared Trout with White Wine, Lemon, Caper Sauce served with a side of mixed greens tossed in lemon juice and olive oil. My husband and I devoured this dish and left only empty platers behind.

For the last of my “3 on 3” challenge I was left with a swordfish steak. This is a thick dense cut of fish, and one I often refer to as the “steak of the sea.” Like a good steak, you don’t want to do too much with it. Originally my thought was to broil it in the oven, but after purchasing a new set of stainless steel pots and pans decided to pan fry it instead. This was the easiest of the three dishes and from start to finish took only about 20 minutes. My husband declared it the best of the week. Locals Seafood, we are your new favorite swordfish customers. =)

Swordfish Steak

Recipe:

1 Locals Seafood Swordfish Steak

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

2 Lemons

Directions:

In a ten inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. (I usually test out the heat by flicking a few drops of water of water in the pan. If it sizzles, it’s ready)

Salt and pepper filet and add the fish to the pan.

Cut lemons in half and squeeze juice in to the pan. (I did this to incorporate lemon flavor in to the fish during the cooking process)

Cook each side about 5 minutes each. I cut my filet in half after the first flip to see how done it was). Most fish I don’t normally cook all the way through, however with swordfish I do.

Serve swordfish with a side salad of mixed greens (I used a left over kale salad I had on hand mixed in with some arugula, green onions and cheese) topped with a touch of olive oil and fresh lemon juice. This salad can be made while the fish is cooking.

In my previous post I mentioned that any leftover white wine, lemon and caper sauce could be frozen to use at a later date. I pulled out one of the sauce cubes, melted it in the microwave and topped a small amount over my portion of swordfish. Delicious! These last two recipes of the week are extremely versatile and can be used with most ypes of fish.

Now off to Locals Seafood you go. And be sure to ask them about species of fish you may not have cooked with before. They are very friendly folks and always happy to offer suggestions for new things to try and how to best cook them. I know I’ve never been disappointed.